


The Man Behind the Screen

by leporidae



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Let's Play, Gaming, M/M, Seungchuchu Week, Seungchuchu Week 2017, YouTube
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-16
Updated: 2017-10-16
Packaged: 2019-01-18 05:05:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12381477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leporidae/pseuds/leporidae
Summary: Famous (and faceless) YouTuber Seung-gil Lee decides to set aside his streak of solitude and collaborate with the up-and-coming (and beautiful) YouTube gamer, Phichit Chulanont.





	The Man Behind the Screen

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MariaMediaOverThere](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MariaMediaOverThere/gifts).



> Hi, and long time no seungchuchu! I literally wrote this fic in like an hour and a half. I guess you could call it a fic speedrun. Ha.
> 
> This was for the seungchuchu week happening on tumblr from today to October 23rd, and today's prompt was "Ga(y)mers." I'm way too busy to write anything else for the week, so this super rushed mess is all you'll be getting from me for now, but - I'll definitely be updating other things in the future when I'm not dying of stress. So look forward to that!

_Have a lovely day! I’ll see you all next time!_

As the video wound to a close, Seung-gil grimaced at his screen, twirling the cord of his headphones around his index finger. He had just finished viewing yet another insta-hit video from the up and coming Thai YouTube gamer, Phichit Chulanont, whose most recent let’s play had already reached almost a million views.

Though Phichit had only just appeared on the gaming scene, his popularity had been on a steady rise from the beginning. Not only did he record his reactions to games of all genres (Seung-gil was particularly fond of the startled squeaks he made when playing horror games), but he also regularly updated his vlogs and had even begun to upload makeup tutorials, instructing the viewer how to emulate his somehow always perfect winged eyeliner. His pretty face and charisma alone had garnered him hundreds of thousands of followers within the first six months of his YouTube career. Each of his videos ended with a chipper _have a lovely day!_ spoken in a sweet tone that somehow still seemed genuine, and a heart shape formed with his hands that he thrust at the screen to express his appreciation for the fans.

Seung-gil’s approach to let’s play videos was vastly different, but equally effective. Perhaps the greatest difference between his videos and Phichit's was that Seung-gil staunchly refused to ever use his webcam when filming, or for that matter even release his real name to the public. His fanbase, which had finally reached a milestone of one and a half million subscribers the week prior, enjoyed the mystery of the “man behind the voice.” Many had drawn fanart of what they believed Seung-gil to look like, which he collected with both exasperation and faint amusement. All people knew about him for certain was that he was Korean and owned a pretty Siberian husky. As such, many of his the fanart renditions dressed him in high fashion, k-pop-esque outfits. Most drew him with chiseled features, flawless skin, and beautiful hair - and none of it could be further from the truth. Seung-gil cared very little about his appearance and usually recorded his videos wearing a mismatched outfit, usually with an ugly dog-themed sweater and sweatpants.

(Plus, none of the fanart had ever been able to do justice to his unusually bushy eyebrows.)

Lately, however, Seung-gil had been swamped with almost endless notifications from his fans, all clamoring for the same thing: a let's play collaboration with Phichit Chulanont. Seung-gil denied even watching the other's videos videos (a blatant lie, considering he kept up with them daily) and refused to speak more on the matter, now how many public and private messages he received.

That is, until Phichit himself personally commented on one of Seung-gil's videos.

_Hey, I love your videos! Your reactions always make me laugh, and you seem like you’d be a fun person to do a collab with. Would you consider recording a multiplayer game with me? I know you’ve been around longer than me, but I think it could be a lot of fun! Plus, a lot of my fans have been asking for it :P_

The comment already had over five hundred likes, and it had only been posted fifteen minutes ago. Seung-gil scowled, and scowled some more - until he could feel his facial muscles physically straining from the intensity of the scowl. If he agreed, this would mark the first time he had collaborated with another YouTuber since the start of his channel.

But his fans would never let him live it down if he refused, and he absolutely _hated_ to be pestered.

_I’ll message you privately about the matter._

* * *

Phichit had decided that for their first collaboration (implying there would even be another!), they should play a multiplayer game that was both entertaining and frustrating; people loved to watch YouTubers play rage-inducing games, after all. After a bit of back and forth, the two decided to try out a new cheap golfing game on Steam with terrible controls and physics - there was even a course set entirely in Antarctica, where each slope was coated in ice and made the golf ball slide wildly out of control with each swing.

And try the game they did. Between Phichit’s agonized wailing every time the ball rocketed off the edge of the course and Seung-gil’s dispassionate annoyance at the impossible-to-master controls, the video wound up an eclectic mixture of both their play styles, yet somehow did not feel disjointed. Even Seung-gil had to admit that their contrasting personalities made for quite the amusing video, and he found himself... having fun. For once he was actually looking forward to editing the footage, a task he usually found tedious.

After the eighteenth hole had concluded- and both Phichit and Seung-gil had their scores beaten by the CPUs, much to their chagrin - they both paused their recordings to speak with one another.

“I’m really glad you agreed to do this with me,” Phichit said, head bobbing up and down enthusiastically. “I’m having so much fun. And I think you are too. I hope so, anyway.”

“Don’t make assumptions,” Seung-gil said sourly.

Phichit laughed. “You can deny it all you want, but you know what you said during the twelfth hole? 'Our next collab.' Which means you were intending to do another collab with me after this, right?”

He huffed. “You were keeping track of the hole number?”

The other boy grinned, and Seung-gil looked away from the screen, despite his own camera being switched off. “I memorized it, 'cause I  had a feeling you'd deny it. Are we gonna play another round?”

“That’s fine with me.”

“Ah, but one thing, first -” Phichit shuffled uncomfortably in his chair, his headset sliding down his face ever so slightly, and Seung-gil was struck with a sudden bout of nerves. “Um, you can say no, if you’d like, but - would you mind turning your webcam on? Just for a few seconds.”

Seung-gil shook his head vigorously, then remembered the other couldn’t see him. “You’re just going to take a screenshot and send it to my subscribers,” he accused. “I don’t want a bunch of random people on the street in Korea trying to take my picture when I try to go out and buy dog food. I hate paparazzi.”

Phichit sighed. “I figured you’d say that… I understand. It can be a bit overwhelming for me too, at times.”

“Really?”

A nod. “Really. But - one last question before I stop bothering you about it, and you can tell me to shut up if you want, but - what if I roll back my chair and put my hands up so you know I’m not touching the keyboard? Then there'll be no way to screenshot your face. I just… I’d like to know the face of who I’m recording with, you know? I swear, I _promise_ I won’t tell anyone what you look like. It can be our secret - between let’s players, you know? Or something.” An almost shy expression flickered on Phichit’s face. “You were one of the people who inspired me to make videos in the first place. I’ve always really looked up to you… ah, but I’m not meaning to guilt you, or anything. I just wanted to let you know I’ve been a fan too. Recording with you has been so exciting on its own, so I don’t really mind if you refuse -”

“I’ll turn my webcam on.”

Phichit blinked. “Eh?”

“J-just for a second,” Seung-gil amended hastily, cheeks flush with warmth. “It’s - it’s only fair. But no recording it, and no… weird comments about how I look. Is that a deal?”

“Of course.”

Without dramatic buildup, Seung-gil leaned forward to turn on the webcam, a feature of his computer that hadn’t received much use for a long time. As the small video of his own face appeared in the bottom corner of the screen, he became suddenly aware of how unkempt he looked, how beautiful Phichit was in comparison - and how much he instantly regretted this decision.

Phichit was staring at him wordlessly, mouth agape, and Seung-gil hurriedly closed out of his video, face burning.

“You’re -”

Seung-gil flinched.

“You’re really cute.”

That hadn’t been what he was expecting at all. Oh, how he was glad he’d switched off his camera when he did, because now he was the one gaping, incredulous eyes wide and hands trembling. From across the room, Seung-gil's dog raised his head and looks at him with an expression that was infuriatingly _knowing_ , especially coming from a dog.

 _You too,_ is what he meant to say, but what came out of his mouth instead was:

“A-are you ready for the next round?”

Phichit laughed again, a light, fluffy laugh that made Seung-gil’s insides squirm. “I’m gonna at _least_ beat the CPU this time, I swear!”

“I don’t believe it. You sucked too much last time.”

The other pouted, which was also a criminally adorable expression, and Seung-gil took a deep breath. “You sucked too, you know!”

 _Perhaps I was too distracted by something - or someone - else to focus on the game,_ he didn’t say. “I suppose I did,” he conceded, tone surprisingly steady considering the flurry of distressing emotions that had been stirred up within him.

They were about to begin recording again, when Seung-gil decided to take yet another leap.

“Phichit?”

“Hmm?”

_Why are you even allowing yourself to say it?_

“My name’s Seung-gil.”

“Seung-gil, huh?” Phichit smiled. “I promise I won’t say it while we’re recording - or if I do, you can edit it out. But it’s a nice name. Thanks for telling me, since, um - it’ll be weird to call you by your handle forever if we’re friends, you know?”

_Friends, huh?_

“...Yeah.”

Had he made a mistake, revealing both his name and face to Phichit? Only time would tell.

And what time did tell was that though this was their first collaboration, it was most certainly not their last.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey @MariaMediarito, sorry for gifting you such a rushed and garbage fic. But since we discussed this on twitter for .5 seconds, I figured I would give some credit where it was due. You're pretty much the sweetest ever - you always leave me such nice comments that make me feel warm and fuzzy. Also, your art is amazing. To be honest you deserve a better fic than this, but I hope you'll accept my humble offering nonetheless.
> 
> Please tell me if there's typos in this, I'm too tired.
> 
> (...I had no idea whether or not to capitalize "let's play," so I left it lowercase.)


End file.
